The peak of the apple season


The peak of the apple season
As I write these lines, we are in the middle of the apple season, and it's an apple year, as you may have noticed if you have apple trees around you, they are bursting with fruit!

Excellent news for the people in the west of France in particular, but let's have a little thought for those in the east where it's a completely different story, the late spring frost has done a lot of damage, an almost blank year for apples and other fruits in some regions.
6,297 5/5 (13 reviews)
Grade this page:
Keywords for this post:ApplesSeasonGoldenApple peelerTaste
Last modified on: October 23th 2021
For this post: Comment Follow Send to a friend
The peak of the apple season

tarte aux pommes

It's the season, as I said, and you have to take advantage of it as much as possible, even if apples keep pretty well over time.
So, let's go for all kinds of recipes: cakes, pies, compotes, baked, etc. It's delicious, and it can be used with all varieties of apples, which are often called in french "knife apples" to differentiate them from "cider apples".

In France, there are probably as many varieties of apples as there are cheeses, some of which are very well known, such as "golden", "reinette", "granny-smith" etc. And others much less well known and often very local, like the "reinettes d'Armorique", "calville", "belle fille normande", etc.
Of course, they are generally not very popular, you will hardly find them in supermarkets, but you can find them on the markets or with local producers, or with enthusiasts, who try to maintain (with difficulty) this greedy heritage.

As far as apples and recipes are concerned, in cooking and pastry-making, there are no rules, you can use any apple in any recipe, in theory... In practice it is a bit more delicate, and here are some points that deserve your attention:

- It's always good to remember, apples are overall quite fragile and susceptible to insect attack, so it's perfectly normal to have fruit that's a bit stained, a bit ugly, and not at all like the apples in the shiny, smooth, perfectly round in commercials. Surface imperfections are a sign of a lack of chemical treatments, and therefore a good sign, whereas a fruit that is "too" beautiful, especially with those stupid individual sticker labels, is always a bit fishy in my eyes. Long live ugly apples!

- Some apples don't do well with baking, granny-smiths for example, but that's almost an exception, and not an absolute rule either.

pommes golden

- The golden apple (above) is the archetype of the fruit that has been over-selected, processed and improved, to finally obtain an apple, certainly very pretty on the outside, but with a rather bland taste.
In my opinion, this is the apple to avoid, and to turn to more typical apples, which are much better in taste and health.


pommes reinettes

- The whole family of reinettes, and in particular the "reine des reinettes" (above) give an excellent and delicious result when cooked, their small natural acidity gives absolutely divine tarts (and in particular the tarte tatin).

- Whatever the recipe you are going to make, compote, tart or other, it is always very interesting to mix several varieties, rather sweet with rather sour for example. The taste will vary as you eat a pie or a cake, you will be pleasantly surprised by the result.

- The taste of apples changes with time, generally more pronounced, a little more acidic after the harvest, and softening with time.


épluche-pommes

- If you like and prepare apples often, I strongly advise you to invest in an apple peeler (pictured above) which peels, cores, and slices, it's not very expensive and makes life incredibly easy. If you decide on a whim to make an apple crumble for example, the simplest of cakes without doubt and adored by children because they can put their hands in the dough, a crumble then, with this tool, in 10 minutes of clock it is in the oven.



In summary: Make the most of the apple season, opt for local varieties if you can find them, avoid golden ones and invest in an apple peeler if possible and... eat apples!





Lasts posts
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Some recipes call for thin slices of bacon to be cooked and added to the recipe, or to prepare one of those delicious breakfasts known as "à l'Anglaise".
April 25th 20255865
The thermometer is your friend
The thermometer is your friend
There are many recipes or foods that require a (very) precise cooking temperature: foie gras, sugar for caramel, meats and fish, and not forgetting pastries. For these few examples, getting the cooking temperature wrong can spoil the whole recipe or dish: undercooked, it's no good or misses the...
April 10th 20251,4655
Travel cakes
Travel cakes
You may have come across the term "travel cakes" ("gateaux de voyage" in french) for certain pastries, so let's take a look at what they're all about.
January 27th 20252,990
The aromatic power of sugar
The aromatic power of sugar
In the kitchen, sugar doesn't just sweeten, it also has an exceptional ability to capture flavors. Combined with aromatic ingredients, such as citrus zest, it acts as a veritable sponge for aromas. By taking the time to let the sugar soak up the flavors, you can transform your desserts, making...
December 25th 20243,4215
The little trap of thick cream
The little trap of thick cream
When you need to add cream to a recipe, you might be wondering: thick (heavy) cream or liquid cream? In most cases, there's no big difference: you can use either. But there is one exception, and that's when the cream needs to be cooked, for a sauce for example, and here the difference between...
December 13th 20243,5525

Other pages you may also like
Drawing a pattern in pastry
Drawing a pattern in pastry
Often in the kitchen, in pastry-making, or in baking, we need to trace a pattern on a pastry. It's just a question of aesthetics but it has its effect after baking on a galette, pithiviers, pâté en croute (terrine in a pie crust), etc.
May 23th 201930 K4.1
The golden-brown finish on puff pastry
The golden-brown finish on puff pastry
Let's take a look at the tricky matter of producing puff pastry with an attractive, golden-brown finish. French pastry chefs call this "dorure" (literally, "gilding"). Behind this quirky term there lurks a real problem (and the solution): when using puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) for a pie, or...
February 8th 201843 K 24.6
Kitchen ovens
Kitchen ovens
You certainly have one in your kitchen, an oven, the essential tool for all kinds of cooking, whether in the kitchen of course, but also in pastry, bakery, pizza, and many others. Here is some information on its structure and operation.
May 16th 202029 K4.4
The so-called "nervous" meats
The so-called "nervous" meats
You've probably heard this before, we're talking about "nervous" meat, or meat with nerves, to describe what is indicated by the blue arrow on the left. This is a piece of beef, and what we call a nerve is not a nerve, it is in fact collagen (chemists sometimes call it a "collagen sink"), a...
April 16th 202130 K4.5
The color of the bread crumb
The color of the bread crumb
When you go to buy bread, at your baker's, at the time of the choice, if you hesitate of course, you will undoubtedly be very sensitive to the color of the crust, and you will be right. The color of the crust, from golden, to sometimes very dark, deep brown almost black, depending on the maturity...
April 30th 202217 K4.6
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page